Reviews

Daemons in the Mist by Alicia Kat Vancil, Kat Vancil

lolasreviews's review

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4.0

I first heard about this author when I was attending a facebook release day party for another author. Alicia Kat Vancil mentioned you could get a free copy of her first book by joining her mailing list, I thought the book sounded good, so thought why not and signed-up. Having just finished this book I think it's a good thing I signed-up for that mailing list as I want to read more books by this author.

Daemons in the Mist takes the cliché plot line from normal human meets supernatural and fall in love and manages to twist it into a great story. While there are some cliché parts and the book is a bit predictable at times, I had a lot of fun reading this. It was exactly the type of book I was in the mood for and I like this author her writing style, the pace flowed really well and there was enough happening to keep my attention. There is some foreshadowing about events that take place later in the book and I thought it was well done. There was a small twist with a lie and a birthday I wasn't a fan of around halfway the book, but that was only a minor issue. Towards the 70% the pace really picks up and I couldn't put the book down, twist after twist surprised me. There are some really well done twists towards the end of the book and I feel like it sets things up for the second book. The ending wraps things up nicely, while still making me wish I had a copy of the second book to read already.

I thought it was interesting that this book was told form both point of views, Nualla the female Daemon and Patrick the normal human male. I also liked how it was the female who was the supernatural instead of the male. Both are great characters. Patrick has a bad home situation, only a few friends and is often a bit self deprecation. He always had his eye on Nualla and then one day he comes to her aid and she finally notices him and he was a chance. Nualla looks perfect, but actually her life is more complicated than it seems from the outside. I thought Nualla and Patrick made a nice couple. Beside these two there are some interesting side characters like Nualla her family, Travis and Patrick his best friend Connor. They all had enough personality to get a feel for their character. I thought it was a bit weird how Connor was so accepting of all the secrets Patrick kept, but he seemed like a great friend.

While the romance stars with them meeting and pretty soon marrying each other, it still builds nicely. They don't declare their love for each other until later and the whole marriage thing is sort of a joke that turns into an marriage as they are both drunk and after that they start to really get to know each other. I liked how this was handled. I was afraid it would go a bit too fast when they got married so early in the book, but strangely enough it worked. They get closer to each other and I liked them together.

The focus isn't on the world building, but the author did a great job of weaving world building into the story. I am not a fan of angel and demon stories, but here they treat daemons more as just another supernatural creature. And there are good and evil daemons, but it doesn't get elaborated on until later in the book. I usually don't like classifying different species as good or evil, so I am curious how that issue will be handled in later books as the evil daemons don't play a big part in this book until the end. Beside that we learn a bit of daemon culture, how they have their own language how they hide in the city and how their society works. I liked how we got to know a bit about the daemons, but still hoped for more and I am hoping for more answers in the next book.

To conclude: this was a great book, it was fun and enjoyable and exactly what I was in the mood for when I picked it up. It was a bit cliché at times, but I thought the author handled the story very well and there were enough surprises and twists. The pace was done well, although the pace did increase towards the end of the book. The characters were likeable and even the side characters had enough depth to get a feel for their personality. The romance took some time to develop even though they get married early in the book and I liked them together. There's some world building woven into the story, but a lot of questions still remain. The ending was well done and makes me curious about the next book!

bookbriefs's review

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4.0


This is certainly an eventful book! And it really grows on you as you keep reading. When I started the book I thought it would only be so-so but by the time I was done, I really enjoyed the story. And when I was about 2/3 of the way in, I took a reading break and got some food and rushed right back to reading. I didn't even realize how much I had started liking the book until that break. Because I was kind of coasting along reading and then once I stopped reading to take a break, I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I found the world of daemons and secrets interesting! And the world was nicely built and very complex. It was a different take on daemons than I have encountered before. There were a few things that confused me in the beginning of the book, but once you get into the story it all becomes easier to understand. I will say this. I could not get Nualla's name right! I think the glossary of terms and the pronunciations should have been at the start of the book, not the end. Because I called her nutella more than a few times in my head. But I do love nutella, so it was never a bad thing for me. hehe. I also loved how committed Patrick was. He would do anything for Nualla. He is a really great guy, and the two of them together is pretty awesome. (and hot)

There were some parts of Daemons in the Mist that seemed a little unrealistic to me. First of all, Patrick accepted everything way too easily. I just don't think people would be this accepting of the supernatural or otherworldly even if it's staring them in the face. I mean I love to read paranormal books and such but if a vampire was sitting next to me, I would be freaked out or in denial or something. And then her dad just seemed to take everything in stride too. I mean, hello! His daughter is only 18! But even though a few scenes in the book seemed unrealistic, I couldn't help but get swept up in the story. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to read the second book!

P.S. I went back and forth with the rating on this one. Because I did find some parts unrealistic but I ended up enjoying the story so much! So I'll with a 3.8 that bumps up to a 4 gavel. :)

sugardustedbooks's review

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3.0

*Originally posted on Pages Of Forbidden Love

First of all I love, love, love… this cover! I think it is absolutely gorgeous. Alicia did such a wonderful job with the cover and I enjoyed reading the story inside.

Patrick and Nualla have gone to Bayside Academy for years. Over those years Patrick has been developing a huge crush on Nualla and she has never even noticed him. All that changes though when Patrick steps up and interrupts a confrontation between Nualla and Michael. Nualla finally knows who Patrick is and they are even going to a school dance together. It all sounds innocent enough until Nualla, in an attempt to avoid Michael, asks Patrick if he wants to get out of town and they end up in Vegas. After one crazy night everything changes and Patrick becomes a part of a world he never knew existed. Nothing will ever be quite the same for either of them.

Daemons in the Mist went back and forth between Nualla and Patrick’s point of view. It was nice getting to read how both characters felt about the situations they got into. I also liked how each chapter had the month and day so that you could see how fast things were progressing. Above all, I enjoyed reading about a new subject, Daemons. I do wish I could have learned a little more about them and the differences between the two kinds while reading.

The characters were great. I enjoyed reading about them all and there really wasn’t anyone I strongly disliked. Patrick was absolutely adorkable. He was just too cute. He was sweet, an artist (he liked to draw), and it even said he knew how to dance (woo hoo :D ). The only thing he was seriously lacking was self-esteem. I feel like I still need to get to know Nualla better but what I got from reading so far was that she cares strongly about the people close to her and she isn’t one to give up. Towards the beginning she did have a couple moments were I felt she was being a little dramatic. She did make an effort with Patrick’s friends and I really liked that about her. As for their relationship, I appreciated how for at least half of the book no one was saying “I love you”. Those words did come up before I was completely convinced about their relationship but by the end I was totally rooting for them.

Nikki (Nualla’s cousin) and Shawn (her friend) were fun and very open towards Patrick. Connor (Patrick’s friend) was always there when Patrick needed to talk but also knew how to stop asking questions when Patrick said he couldn’t tell him. Beatrice was always reading a book so of course I loved her and Jenny was a drama queen that I wished would have toned it down a bit. I feel like Patrick’s friends weren’t around as much as Nualla’s so I am hoping to get to read more about them in the future. Travis, a longtime friend of Nualla and a young genius is another character I really want to read more about.

There was a lot that happened in this book. Things never settled down for long and although this left little room for a dull moment at times I felt like that was it and that there wouldn’t be a big ending which brought me down (it made it hard for me to read sometimes). Fortunately, I was wrong and I got the ending I was hoping for. It was sad, suspenseful, and surprising. I think surprises make everything better in stories.

While reading Daemons in the Mist I had a lot of questions that I felt the characters should have been asking. Thankfully most of the time they eventually brought it up though. I also didn’t care for how Patrick found out Nualla’s secrets and how he reacted to them. It was just instant acceptance and didn’t feel right. There were also some grammatical errors but I did really enjoy the subject, the characters, and the ending really grabbed my attention making it an enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing what happens next in Patrick and Nualla’s lives.
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